Hundreds Gather to Protest Dodgers Pride Night Honoring ‘Sisters’ Group

LOS ANGELES, June 16 (KNN) — Hundreds of demonstrators, possibly more than a thousand, gathered at Dodger Stadium Friday afternoon to protest the inclusion of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence at Friday night’s LGBTQ+ Pride Night hosted by the Dodgers.

The event ruffled the Catholic Church and Christian organizations due to the inclusion of the ‘nun’ group that dresses in religious habit style clothing along with heavy face paint. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence was due to receive a Community Hero award during the Pride Night celebration at Dodger Stadium.

The protesters feel the group is making a mockery of Catholic nuns and are calling it outright blasphemy. Signs that read “Play Ball not Politics”, “Boycott Dodgers” and “Stop Disrepecting Sisters” as well as many other messages were printed on placards carried by demonstrators.

On the Catholics for Catholics website, the group called for a “prayerful procession at Dodger Stadium” starting at 3 p.m., “in reparations for offenses committed against Jesus Christ and all Christians.”

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence claim to be a “leading-edge Order of queer and trans nuns” on their website . The link to the L.A. Chapter can be found here .

The group first appreared in San Francisco on Easter Sunday in 1979, according to their website. Since then, they have devoted themselves “to community service, ministry and outreach to those on the edges, and to promote human rights, respect for diversity and spiritual enlightenment,” quoting the website.

“We use humor and irreverent wit to expose the forces of bigotry, complacency and guilt that chain the human spirit,” their website states.

Key News Network interviewed Jody Bender at the protest who was in support of family and friends who are part of the LGBTQ+ community. Jody felt the protesters had a right to gather and express their opinions as long as it’s in a loving and respectful way and not oppressing.

As for The Sisters issue specifically, Jody said, “The humor was lost on them [the protesters] … have a sense of humor, it’s supposed to be funny.”

Police presence was strong at the stadium, but it appeared overall to be a peacful protest. The Catholics for Catholics gathering at Dodger Stadium included an agenda of prayer first, followed by a “procession”, worship, music and featured speakers in Lot #13 at the stadium.

The protest unfolded before the Pride event scheduled for 5:30 p.m., and game at 7:10 p.m. against the San Francisco Giants.

Keith Johnson, Video Journalist / KNN